Shakti Devi Temple, Chhatrari
Shakti Devi Temple at Chhatrari, also spelt Chatrari, is an 8th-century wooden temple about 48 km from Chamba, with an Ashtadhatu idol and mountain views.
Himachal Pradesh⛰ 1,006 m2 itineraries
Chamba
Chamba at 1,006 m: the Lakshmi Narayan temples, Champavati Temple and the Chaugan in a town founded in 920, plus Chhatrari's 8th-century temple. Free plans.
Itineraries you can copy
All 2 →
Day plan · First visitTemples & heritage
One day in Chamba — the old town on foot
A one-day Chamba plan on foot: Champavati Temple, the Lakshmi Narayan temples, the Chaugan, the Bhuri Singh Museum and Chamunda Devi. Free, copyable.
Best Mar–Jun · Oct–Nov
See the plan →
1 night · 2 days · First visitTemples & heritage
Two days in Chamba — the old town and Chhatrari
A two-day Chamba plan: the old-town temples and the hill temple on day one, then a day trip to the 8th-century Shakti Devi Temple. Free, copyable.
Best Mar–Jun · Oct–Nov
See the plan →Chamba sits at 1,006 m on the Ravi, where the Sal river joins it, with the Shah Madar hill behind. Raja Sahil Varman moved his capital here from Bharmour in 920 and named the new town for his daughter Champavati. The Chamba rulers held out for about a thousand years before the British.
The old town is a walk. Champavati Temple is the temple the town is named for, and the Lakshmi Narayan temples stand a minute away. The Chaugan, a long green made in 1890, and the Bhuri Singh Museum face each other across the town's centre. Chamunda Devi Temple, a wooden temple from 1762, is up the hill. Further out, the Shakti Devi Temple at Chhatrari dates from the 8th century.
A day covers the old town; a second reaches Chhatrari. See the one-day plan and the two-day plan, things to do in Chamba, when to visit and how to reach Chamba.
Photos: Ms Sarah Welch (CC0) · Ms Sarah Welch (CC0) · Ms Sarah Welch (CC0) — via Wikimedia Commons, resized.
Places worth the drive
Lakshmi Narayan Temples, Chamba
The Lakshmi Narayan group in Chamba is a row of Vaishnava temples built from the 10th to 19th centuries, with a metal Garuda and pinnacles gilded in 1678.
Chamunda Devi Temple, Chamba
Chamunda Devi Temple in Chamba is a wooden gabled temple consecrated on 2 April 1762 on the Shah Madar hills, reached by 378 steps or a 3 km road.
Champavati Temple, Chamba
Champavati Temple in Chamba is a 10th-century stone shikhara temple raised by Raja Sahil Varman for his daughter, with a wheel roof and carved walls.
On the map
Open the Chamba map →The places a Chamba day reaches, with the road time from town. Each opens on the map with its plans and pages beside it.
Before you go
All articles →Things to do in Chamba — 5 stops, and which need a car
Five things to do in Chamba, sorted by distance from the old town, with measured drive times to the hill temple and to Chhatrari, and when to go.
How to reach Chamba — distances and drive times
How to reach Chamba by road from Dalhousie, Pathankot, Dharamshala and Chandigarh, with measured distances and drive times and the nearest airport.
Best time to visit Chamba — month by month
When to visit Chamba, month by month, from its own IMD normals: March to June is warm, July and August are wettest, October and November are driest.
Questions people ask
How many days do you need in Chamba?
One day covers the old town on foot: Champavati Temple, the Lakshmi Narayan temples, the Bhuri Singh Museum and the Chaugan. A second day goes to Chamunda Devi Temple in the morning and the long drive out to the Shakti Devi Temple at Chhatrari, about 99 minutes each way.
Why is the town called Chamba?
Raja Sahil Varman moved his capital here from Bharmour in 920 and named it Champavati for his daughter, a name that shortened to Chamba over the years. Champavati Temple in the old town is said to mark the town's beginning, and the Archaeological Survey of India maintains it.
When is the Minjar fair?
It begins on the first day of Baisakhi, in April, and has been held since 935. It runs for 21 days, and during it the Chaugan becomes a market. Go for the crowd and the music, or outside it for quiet temples and open lanes.
Photographs by Wikimedia Commons contributors (CC0, CC BY, CC BY-SA), resized; each picture is credited on its own page.